Armrest attachment for crutches



G. HIPWOOD. ARMREST ATTACHMENT FOR CRUTCHES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR- 23, I92!- 7 1,484,387., Patented Nov. 7, 11922.

George H pvvmod bym MJ W AWys Patented Nov. '7, 1922.

warren stares GEORGE HIPWOOD, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

ARIVIREST ATTACHMENT FOR GRU'ICHES.

Application filed March 23, 1921. Serial No. 454,674.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE Hrrwooo, a citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, county of New York, State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Armrest Attachments for crutches, of whi-chthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing representing like parts.

This invention relates to crutches and particularly to an arm rest attachment which can be readily applied to the head of' an ordinary crutch and which is constructed so that it has yielding resilient qualities that make the crutch much easier to use.

In some respects the arm rest attachment herein shown is similar to that shown in my Patents Nos. 1,298,211, Mar. 25, 1919 and 1,298,714, Apr. 1, 1919. a

In order to give an understanding of my invention I have illustrated in the drawings a selected embodiment thereof which will now be described after which the novel features will be pointed out in the appended claims.

Fig. 1 is a side view of the head of a crutch having my improvements applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is an end View of Fig. 1.

Fig.3 is an enlarged section 011 the line 3-3, Fig. 1. I Fig. '4 is a perspective view of one of the clips.

Fig. 5 is a view showing one end of the cover.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged transverse section through the end of the crutch head.

Fig. 7 is a section through the roll at the upper end of the spring arm.

In the drawings 1 indicates the head of a clutch and 2 the side members to which the head is attached.

My improved attachment is constructed so that it can be readily applied to the crutch head 1 of any crutch and when so applied it provides a soft yielding support for the user as distinguished from the relatively hard unyielding support afforded by the head 1 itself.

The arm rest attachment herein shown is similar to that in my above mentioned Patents No. 1,298,211 and No. 1,298,? 14, in that it comprises two clips 3 which can be detachably secured to the ends of an ordinary crutch head, and a flexible arm supporting member 4 which is resiliently connected to the clips 3. These clips 8 may conveniently be made of sheet metal pressed or stamped into the desired shape and in the construction shown each clip is provided with two side portions 5 which are connected by a strap portion 6 that extends over the top of the crutch head and another strap portion 7 whioh'extends around the end of the crutch head. -The strap port on 7 limits the extent to which the clip may he slipped onto the crutch head and the strap portion 6 cooperates with the clamping means to securely clamp the clip to the crutch head after it has been placed thereon. Each side member 5 is provided with a depending ear 8 and a clamping screw 9 extends through said ears, said screw being provided with a clamp'ng nut '10 which when tightened serves to draw the ears 8 together and thereby clamp the clip firmly to the crutch head.

Each clip carries a resilient arm which extends backwardly above the crutch head in an inclined direction and by which the arm supporting member 4 is sustained. These resilient arms are indicated at 11 and each w ll preferably be made from spring wire although they might have any construction without departing from the invention. Where they are made of spring wire I propose to make each clip with the additional ears 12 which support a cross pin'13 and to form the spring arms with coils 14 which are co led about the pin 13 the ends 15 of the arms being extended beneath the crutch head and engaging the clamping screw 9. In the construction shown each spring arm is formed from a length of wire which is bent back on itself thus making two portions each of which has the coils 14 therein. Each spring arm carries at its upper end a roll 16 which is journaled on the bridge portion of the arm that connects the two sides. This roll 16 preferably has a metallic core 17 through which the wire passes and a nonmetallic outer portion, although this construction is not absolutely essential to the invention. The arm supporting the member 4 may be in the form of a strap of leather or any other suitable material which will preferably have a desirable amount of padding 18 applied to the upper surface thereof so as to give it a large body and a proper shape. The ends of the arm supporting member are provided with extensions 19 and 20 which pass around the rolls 16 and are connected together by a buckle or any other suitable fastening device 21 as shown in Fig. 1.

After the arm supporting member l has been thus attached to the spring arms 11 and the extensions 19 and 20 have been drawn t ghtly together the said arm supporting member will normally be held under more or less tension due to the resiliency of the spring arms 11. When the crutch is used and weight is applied to the member 4: it will yield centrally due to its flexible nature and the weight will tend to draw the resilient arms 11 together, such action being resisted by their resiliency. Although the depression of the central portion of the arm supporting member tends to carry it to ward the crutch head yet this motion is partly counteracted by the rising movement of the ends of the arms 11 due to their being drawn inwardly toward each other. The result is that a flexible resilient arm support is provided which is extremely comfortable to the user.

The resiliency of the arm support can be varied by tightening or loosening the connections 19 and 20. If these connections are tightened this will tend to place the spring arms 11 under increased tension and will thus decrease the resiliencyof the attachment. It is the intention that the arm rest member will be adjusted to suit the circumstances under which the'crutch is to be used. A heavy person will require that the attachment be adjusted so as to provide less resiliency while a light person would require an opposite adjustment to give greater resil iency.

Another feature of my invention is-a detachable washable cover for the arm supporting member 4 which can be readily detached and washed thus making the crutch completely sanitary. This covering is indicated at 22 and it can be made of canvas or any other suitable material which can be easily washed. For detachably securing it to the arm supporting member I have made it with three tabs 23, 24 and 25 at each end, these tabs preferably being elastic and having a suitable eye or fastening which can be hooked over a stud or projection 26 formed on the arm 11. If desired the edges of the covering 22 along the sides of the arm esa supporting member may be connected to the under side of the latter by separable fasteners 27. The provision of this cover makes the crutch entirely sanitary and provides means whereby the arm supporting member may always have a fresh clean surface.

I claim.

1. The combination with a crutch having a crutch head constituting an arm rest, of an arm rest attachment comprising two clips adapted to be slipped over and detachably retained on the ends of the crutch head, a spring arm secured to and extending upwardly and outwardly from each clip,an d a flexible arm-supporting member connecting the upper ends of the spring arms.

2. An arm rest attachment for crutches comprising two clips adapted to be slipped over the ends of a crutch head, a spring arm secured and extending upwardly and out wardly from each clip, and an armsupporting member connecting the upper'ends of the arms and adjustable as to its length. v

v 3. The combination with a crutch having a crutch head provided with a concave up per surface constituting an arm rest, of an arm rest attachment comprisingtwo clips adapted to be slipped over and detachably retained on the ends of the crutch head, a spring arm secured to and extending upwardly and outwardly from each clip,'a roll rotatably carried by the upper end of each arm, and a flexible arm-supporting member extending from one roll to the other and passed around the rolls and having its ends adjustably secured together between the arm-supporting portion thereof and the crutch head.

a. An arm rest attachment for crutches comprising two clips adapted to be placed over the ends of a crutch head, each'clip having two pairs of depending ears, and a clamping bolt extending through one pair of ears of each clip andclamping the clip to the crutch head, a pin sustained by the other pairs of ears of each clip, a resilient arm pivoted on each pin and having its lower end engaging the clampingbolt, and a flexible arm-supporting member connecting the upper ends of said arms.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification.

GEORGE HIPWOOD. 

